Post by Josh on Feb 15, 2007 16:57:37 GMT -8
12/21/06:
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardbrobe is one of those stories you can keep coming back to for a lifetime because new things stand out to you each time. There's no way for me to go into all the significance I've found in the Chronicles of Narnia in this forum, but I thought I'd just mention a few highlights we have/ will be studying.
PART I
Another world right around the corner
One of the most sublime themes in LWW is the idea that another world lies just around the corner. It's a truth that many Christians think about rarely, unfortunately. Yet it has the power to transform our experience in this world.
The Kingdom of Heaven isn't just some place up in the sky, it is in reality all around us, behind the fabric of the visible world, so to speak. Like Lucy after her first adventure in the wardrobe, we must live with the expectation that the Kingdom of God can break into our experience at any time- and the reality of that 'other' world transforms even the mundane experiences of the 'everyday world', because the two worlds are inter-related.
A Faun with a Conscience
Mr. Tumnus is a fascinating character if you know much about ancient Greek mythology. Fauns were known as tricksters, yes, but also as sexual predators. Mr. Tumnus, with a softened 'children's story' twist, seems to fit this theme to a tee until he starts crying. The last thing you'd ever expect to find would be a Faun with a Conscience, which is one of Lewis' most hilarious twists on ancient mythology. And of course, Mr. Tumnus is just the first of many characters in the Chronicles of Narnia to teach us about the nature of repentence and forgiveness.
Liar, Lunatic, or Lucy
Lewis loved to infuse his story telling and his narratives with heftier ideas he explored in his non-fiction works. Thus, themes in the Problem of Pain show up in A Grief Observed, ideas from the Four Loves achieve perfection in Till We Have Faces, and of course the classic "Trilemma" of Mere Christianity is found (in kid form) in the discussion that Peter and Susan have with the Professor.
The Trilemma, in a nutshell, argues that if the New Testament accounts about Jesus are accurate, we must either conclude that Jesus was either a Liar, a Lunatic, or Lord, but certainly not just a great human teacher.
This is what we see in the LWW when the Proffessor tells the older kids that it would be most logical for them to believe Lucy's audacious claim.
The Professor is believes to be patterned after Lewis' own beloved tutor who taught him to think logically and to love learning after his awful experience at boarding schools.
Anatomy of a Temptation
Of course, the interact between Edmund and the White Witch is a classic anatomy of temptation. It's the perfect three-prong temptation: pride, envy, and appetite, complete with that almost cocaine-like substance known as Turkish Delight.
Lewis goes on to show us how the one who gives into temptation loses track of reality- becoming more and more presumptious... and stupid (think of Edmund sitting 'trying out' the Witches throne and asking for some more Turkish Delight when it's already obvious that she is a dire enemy).
Just a few themes among many we discussed. Feel free and comment on these or add some that stood out to you!
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardbrobe is one of those stories you can keep coming back to for a lifetime because new things stand out to you each time. There's no way for me to go into all the significance I've found in the Chronicles of Narnia in this forum, but I thought I'd just mention a few highlights we have/ will be studying.
PART I
Another world right around the corner
One of the most sublime themes in LWW is the idea that another world lies just around the corner. It's a truth that many Christians think about rarely, unfortunately. Yet it has the power to transform our experience in this world.
The Kingdom of Heaven isn't just some place up in the sky, it is in reality all around us, behind the fabric of the visible world, so to speak. Like Lucy after her first adventure in the wardrobe, we must live with the expectation that the Kingdom of God can break into our experience at any time- and the reality of that 'other' world transforms even the mundane experiences of the 'everyday world', because the two worlds are inter-related.
A Faun with a Conscience
Mr. Tumnus is a fascinating character if you know much about ancient Greek mythology. Fauns were known as tricksters, yes, but also as sexual predators. Mr. Tumnus, with a softened 'children's story' twist, seems to fit this theme to a tee until he starts crying. The last thing you'd ever expect to find would be a Faun with a Conscience, which is one of Lewis' most hilarious twists on ancient mythology. And of course, Mr. Tumnus is just the first of many characters in the Chronicles of Narnia to teach us about the nature of repentence and forgiveness.
Liar, Lunatic, or Lucy
Lewis loved to infuse his story telling and his narratives with heftier ideas he explored in his non-fiction works. Thus, themes in the Problem of Pain show up in A Grief Observed, ideas from the Four Loves achieve perfection in Till We Have Faces, and of course the classic "Trilemma" of Mere Christianity is found (in kid form) in the discussion that Peter and Susan have with the Professor.
The Trilemma, in a nutshell, argues that if the New Testament accounts about Jesus are accurate, we must either conclude that Jesus was either a Liar, a Lunatic, or Lord, but certainly not just a great human teacher.
This is what we see in the LWW when the Proffessor tells the older kids that it would be most logical for them to believe Lucy's audacious claim.
The Professor is believes to be patterned after Lewis' own beloved tutor who taught him to think logically and to love learning after his awful experience at boarding schools.
Anatomy of a Temptation
Of course, the interact between Edmund and the White Witch is a classic anatomy of temptation. It's the perfect three-prong temptation: pride, envy, and appetite, complete with that almost cocaine-like substance known as Turkish Delight.
Lewis goes on to show us how the one who gives into temptation loses track of reality- becoming more and more presumptious... and stupid (think of Edmund sitting 'trying out' the Witches throne and asking for some more Turkish Delight when it's already obvious that she is a dire enemy).
Just a few themes among many we discussed. Feel free and comment on these or add some that stood out to you!